North Western Railway
The North Western Railway (NWR) is the main standard gauge railway network on Sodor. From nationalisation in 1948 until privatisation in 1997, the railway was the North Western Region of British Railways. Overview * Founded: 1914 * Predecessor: Sodor & Mainland Railway, Wellsworth & Suddery Railway, Tidmouth, Knapford & Elsbridge Light Railway * Successor: North Western Region of British Railways (1948-1997), North Western Railway (1997-present) * Locale: Island of Sodor * Headquarters: Tidmouth (originally Vicarstown) * Parent: British Railways (1948-1997) * Lines: 16 * Track gauge: Standard gauge * Controller: Sir Topham Hatt (1914-1954), Sir Charles Topham Hatt (1954-1984), Sir Stephen Topham Hat (1984-present) * Motto: Nil Unquam Simile (There's nothing quite like it) History The NWR was formed in 1914 from a government-sponsored merger of the two standard gauge rail companies that existed on Sodor. These were the Sodor & Mainland Railway (S&M) and the Tidmouth, Wellsworth & Suddery Railway (TW&S). This railway had been formed in 1912 from a merger of the Tidmouth, Knapford and Elsbridge Light Railway, (TK&E) and the Wellsworth & Suddery Railway, (W&S). Lord Harwick was appointed Chairman, while Mr. Topham Hatt, formerly of the TK&ER, was appointed Chief Mechanical Engineer, and the NWR began operating in 1915. Much construction work was needed in order to connect the three absorbed railways and meet the Admiralty's requirements. The NWR cut a single bore tunnel through the Ballahoo Ridge, allowing it to extend to Vicarstown, where it established its Administrative Headquarters and main Motive Power Depot. A rolling lift bridge, designed by Topham Hatt, was subsequently erected across the Walney Channel, finally connecting Sodor with the Mainland. Repair shops were also established at Crovan's Gate, while much of the routes of the former railways were converted from single to double track. Since 1925 these shops had been expanded as required till, with the decline of steam on the Mainland, the Works were equipped with machinery and craftsmen able to tackle any type of steam locomotive overhaul or rebuilding that may have been needed. Sir Topham Hatt had been looking into the possibility of manufacturing parts for engines on heritage railways. In 1916, the NWR constructed a single line extension of the Main Line up to Arlesburgh by Government Order. The line was a key part of the NWR's obligations as a strategic railway, for it allowed the Admiralty to regularly patrol the West Coast of the island with armoured trains. It was originally intended to reach Harwick, but by the time Arlesburgh was reached, the immediate threat had passed and further extension was dropped. Apart from the four "Coffee Pots" of the TK&ER and the four 0-6-0 tank engines of the W&SR, the NWR when formed had no locomotives of its own. Throughout the First World War it was worked with locomotives and rolling stock borrowed from the Midland and the Furness Companies, such as Edward. It also acquired a tank engine from the LB&SCR named Thomas. By 1921 most of these locomotives had to be returned, and replacements needed to be found. This was a time of great difficulty for the NWR as with the end of the War the NWR's military value was ended and Government support withdrawn. This resulted in a locomotive crisis, and Mr Topham Hatt, now also a Director, was placed in charge of finding new motive power. In 1921, he attempted to buy a Robinson Atlantic, but ended up with Henry, an engine riddled with flaws, while in 1923 he acquired Gordon and James, both experimental prototypes. In 1923 came the Grouping, and the NWR was threatened with either closure or absorption into the LMS system. The NWR Board, however, led by their Chairman Lord Harwick believed in the railway’s future and fought off the plans. In this they were ably backed by the new General Manager, Topham Hatt, and to such good purpose that by 1925 the LMS had been brought to terms, and the NWR was enabled to maintain its identity. The agreement with the LMS granted the NWR Running Powers across the Vicarstown Bridge into Barrow-in-Furness, and also began a joint suburban service between Barrow and Norramby, at the cost of the NWR curtailing a steamer service between Kirk Ronan and Dublin it had launched in 1920. Also in 1923, following an agreement with the Peel Godred Power Company, the NWR constructed a branch line from Killdane to Peel Godred to serve the Sodor Aluminium Works, using powers it had inherited from the S&MR. Due to the heavy gradients, the branch line is unique for being worked by electric locomotives. While the branch has provided steady revenue to the NWR, it resulted in the closure of the Mid Sodor Railway. The following year, 1924, the NWR entered an agreement with Jabez Croarie to extend its Elsbridge Branch Line to Ffarquhar to service the Anopha Quarry, providing a new source of traffic. The company first had its headquarters at Vicarstown, but were moved along with the main engine sheds to Tidmouth in 1925. The main repair works for the railway were originally at Crovan's Gate close to the interchange station with the independently owned Skarloey Railway (SR). It opened in 1915. It closed in 2009, as the Sodor Steamworks opened. When construction of the Steamworks started, the main buildings were demolished, and for a short time, the works was relocated to Tidmouth. For a short time before the Vicarstown Dieselworks opened in 2011, diesels were repaired here. Although most of the old works was demolished, the shed is the only part that remains. It is now a carriage and wagon shed. Connections to Sodor's other railway companies are at Crovan's Gate for the Skarloey Railway (SR), Kirk Machan for the Culdee Fell Railway (CFR), and Arlesburgh West for the Arlesdale Railway (AR). The NWR has had running powers into Barrow-in-Furness since an agreement with the London, Midland and Scottish Railway, (LMS) in 1925. Until the construction of the Jubilee Road Bridge in 1977, the NWR had rights of a car ferry and worked an intensive and profitable service. A smaller replacement station and shed were built at Vicarstown for the engines operating the car ferry service in 1927/8, and the turntable was taken up and installed at Barrow, while the headquarters moved to the other end of the main line at Tidmouth. British Rail had running powers over the bridge to operate the joint NWR/BR suburban service from Barrow to Norramby, and since privatisation, the NWR have operated the service with Network Rail. The Wild Nor' Wester service, usually hauled by Gordon, runs to Barrow from Tidmouth. As Gordon could not go far on the Other Railway due to a lack of waterpipes, he used to be uncoupled from the train at Barrow and change places with a diesel locomotive from the Other Railway, who would take the Wild Nor' Wester onwards to London. By the early 2000's, however, this wasted too much time and the timetable was considered too slow. Sir Topham Hatt decided to buy Pip and Emma to run the service, as they are capable of doing a complete round trip every day, which he did so in 2011. Since 1925 the NWR has also had its own shed, turntable and servicing facility at Barrow. There is also a joint goods yard for exchange traffic. When the railways in the United Kingdom were nationalised, Sodor was affected with the NWR becoming the North Western Region of British Railways however the railway was allowed to keep a large degree of independence from the rest of the network; this is why steam traction was preserved on the railway, as well as why none of the branch lines were affected by the Beeching axe. The other railways on the island were not affected by the nationalisation. Since privatisation the railway has again become the North Western Railway Company and unlike most post-privatisation train companies is responsible for the running of the freight and passenger operations and for the maintenance of the track and infrastructure of the railway. In 1973, steamboats on the Kirk Ronan to Dublin service had phased out. In 1974, the NWR stopped running the service, and a new company named Sudrian Ferries started running car ferries on the service, although at the time, the NWR operated a car ferry from Vicarstown to Barrow-in-Furness that was running at the time until the construction of the Jubilee Bridge in 1977. Over the next few years, they started running car ferries on new services from Liverpool to Brendam, Heysham to Brendam, and Belfast to Tidmouth, Fleetwood to Norramby, Misty Island to Brendam and Arlesburgh to Ramsey. Rolling stock The NWR has at least a total of eighty locomotives. the NWR has had many other locomotives in the past, mainly Other Railway locomotives being hired on trial and then sent away in disgrace, or on loan to help out on extra passenger and goods trains. Routes The NWR operates 16 lines throughout the island. They are: * North Western Main Line (Tidmouth - Barrow-in-Furness) * Norramby Branch Line (Vicarstown or Crovan's Gate - Norramby) * Kirk Ronan Branch Line (Kellsthorpe - Kirk Ronan) * Peel Godred Branch Line (Killdane - Peel Godred) * Brendam Branch Line (Wellsworth - Brendam) * Ffarquhar Branch Line (Knapford - Ffarquhar) * The Little Western (Tidmouth - Arlesburgh) * Quarry Branch Line (Whiff's Waste Dump - Blue Mountain Quarry) * Ulfstead Branch Line (Maron - Ulfstead) * Toby's Branch Line (Ulfstead - Bluff's Cove) * Tidmouth Loop Line (Tidmouth - Crosby) * Main Line Loop (Maron - Whispering Woods) * Stepney's Branch Line (Crovan's Gate - Great Waterton) * Misty Valley Branch Line (Peel Godred - Callan Castle) * Killdane Branch Line (Cronk - Killdane) * Harwick Branch Line (Arlesburgh - Harwick) Services The NWR operate a few important services. Passenger services * The Wild Nor' Wester - An express passenger service running between Tidmouth and Barrow-in-Furness, via Crovan's Gate. It is usually pulled by Gordon, although Henry, James and Bear take the train when Gordon is away or busy. Other coaches form the "Limited". An extension of the "Wild Nor' Wester" service operates to London, and is run by Pip and Emma. Originally, Gordon would pull this train to Barrow-in-Furness, and then a diesel locomotive from the Other Railway would take over to London, due to Gordon's lack of waterpipes, which prevented him from going to London himself. However, in the early 2000's, this wasted too much time and the timetable was considered too slow, which is why Sir Topham Hatt bought Pip and Emma. Nowadays, Gordon only pulls short workings to Barrow-in-Furness. The last train of the day pulled by Gordon stops at all stations on the Main Line. * The Limited - Another express passenger passenger train. It is often pulled by Bear. * The Great Waterton Special - A passenger train between Knapford and Great Waterton. * The Flying Kipper - The railwaymen's nickname for the fast goods train that runs overnight, usually pulled by Henry, that transports fish from Tidmouth to the Mainland. The train is made up of different vans, utility vans and salt vans. On occasions, two trucks full of fish crates are added to the front of the train. James appears to be the secondary engine to take the Flying Kipper when Henry is unavailable, as the former has been seen pulling the train several times. Other engines who have pulled the Kipper on occasion include Gordon and Emily, however Caitlin has pulled the train on one occasion. * The Mail Train - A train that consists of rolling stock used to transport letters and parcels throughout the Island of Sodor, the Mainland and it's railways. the Mail Train is usually pulled by Percy. The train commonly consists of special utility vans and a standard brake van. However, they are often accompanied by open wagons or conflats. * The NWR run a peak hour suburban service from Barrow-in-Furness to Norramby. Before privatisation, it was jointly operated with British Rail. Liveries The steam engines are painted primarily blue with red lining, secondarily green with red lining and tertiarily red with yellow and black lining with either the words "NORTH WESTERN" or the letters "N W R" painted in yellow letters with red or black shading on the side of the tanks or tenders, and the numbers painted in yellow with red or black borders on the side of the cabs, tanks or tenders. The diesel engines are painted either BR black, BR green or BR blue. The diesel shunters are painted with black and yellow hazard stripes, and the mainline diesels are painted with yellow warning panels. The carriages are painted brown with yellow lining and NWR lettering and numbering. The wagons and brake vans are painted either dark grey, dark green, or brown with black frames and "N W" painted on the sides in white. After nationalization, two logos (or crests) were used during the period, similar to the ones of British Railways. The first logo (1948-1956) was the "Lion and Wheel" (sometimes nicknamed the "Cycling Lion"), showing a lion standing over a spoked wheel upon which the words "British Railways" were displayed. The second logo (1956-1965) featured a lion holding a wheel (which gave rise to the nickname "ferret and dartboard"), sitting in a crown, with the words "British" and "Railways" to left and right. From 1965, the BR/Sudrian Corporate Image and "Double Arrow" logo was adopted. Trivia * Diesel, Mavis, Bill and Ben are owned by the NWR, but were previously owned by British Railways and private railways respectively. * Emma, Rosie and Rebecca are the only engines who have the acronym NWR painted on their liveries. * The Harwick Branch Line is the newest of the NWR lines, as it opened in 2015, however, the Little Western was originally planned to terminate at Harwick, but was then dropped and instead now terminates at Arlesburgh, where the Harwick line starts. * The Peel Godred Branch Line is the only line to be electrified. Trains on this line are mainly goods trains, and are hauled by electric locomotives, whilst passenger trains are run by electric multiple units. There are eight trains a day to Killdane, and four of which continue by steam to Cronk. Other engines such as Whiff and Scruff also use this line. * During the period of when the NWR was nationalised, it was commonly referred to as Sodor Railways, although the Skarloey, Culdee Fell and Arlesdale Railways weren't nationalised. Category:Railways